Update...Illuxcon 6 is approaching...

I have had a crazy past couple of months both in good and bad ways. I've been a bit stressed trying to get all of my work and preparations for Illuxcon done in time. But finally, things are starting to look up, and I'm just about all caught up on everything and I'm starting to feel ready to attend Illuxcon 6 starting Sept 11th!

For those of you who don't know, Illuxcon is the fantasy sci-fi art convention. Here you'll see tons of traditional and digital artwork from some of the best names in the industry as well as those up-and-coming artists trying to break their way into the industry as well as art collectors and enthusiasts. This year will be Illuxcon's first year in it's new location of Allentown, Pennsylvania, which is conveniently 4 hours closer to me than the previous location, Altoona, PA. This year is going to be even bigger and better, taking place in the Allentown Art Museum which will offer much more space to pack in even more awesome artists and their artwork.

There will be 3 sections of the show, the Main Show (which runs all 5 days), the Weekend Salon (Sat & Sun) and the Showcase (Fri & Sat). I will be participating in the Showcase for my 2nd time this year and I have a lot more work to show off as well as a bunch of large scale prints available for purchase as well as some other goodies, you'll just have to stop by and see for yourself.

I really can't wait for Illuxcon to be here, I'm sure I will have tons to write here upon my return. If you'll be in attendance as well I hope to see you there!

The fear of blood tends to create fear for the flesh - Silent Hill 1 Still Life

I just can't get enough Silent Hill in my life, as you can tell by my latest personal piece. Yet another Silent Hill inspired still life.

Silent Hill 1 Still Life

This one is based on the very first game in the series. The piece features 7 key items found throughout the course of the game. I posted a challenge over to my personal Facebook page to see if any of my Facebook friends could name all of the items in the piece, with bonus points going to anyone who can name the location.

Did you come up with any answers? Take a look and see how you did!

Here's some details about the items:
1 - Harry finds a page from Cheryl's sketchbook in the alley near the beginning of the game leading him to visit Midwich Elementary.
2 - Key found in Balkan Church, used to lower the drawbridge that leads into Central Silent Hill.
3 - The Flauros is given to you by Dahlia Gillespie, and is used to stop Alessa late in the game.
4 - Map found in the Cafe at the start of the game.
5 - This vial is found in a black plastic bag, hidden in a motorcycle at the motel where Dr. Michael Kaufmann was staying. Kaufmann uses this item to expel the demon god from Alessa at the end of the game.
6 - The radio Harry finds at the Cafe at the start of the game, emits static when monsters are near.
7 - These notepads are scattered through the game and used as save points. The idea is that Harry is recording the strange events he's experiencing.
- The location is hinted at by the bottom tip of a cross in the background, the podium, and both the Flauros and the drawbridge key are found there. I realize this is extremely subtle but I thought it could be figured out.

Whether you took a stab at the challenge or not, I hope you like the new piece! It was a lot of fun to work on and geek out with. I hope any Silent Hill fans who may pass by this can get some enjoyment from it. Thanks for looking!

Dale Jr. Skulls - Sketches & Items Available for Purchase

Final rendering

I thought it would be fun to post the sketches I submitted for the Dale Jr Skulls. If you missed the last post, make sure to check it out here to find out more about the specifics of the job.

Skull Sketches

Some additional news, all of the products featuring my skulls have become available for purchase on the Keyscaper website! Click on the image of each product if you're interested in owning one of the items.

Desktop Calculator

USB 8G Flash Drive

DJ Style Headphones

iPad Mini Case

iPad 2+ Case

iPod Touch 5G Case

iPod Touch 4G Case

Wireless USB Keyboard

Kindle Fire HD 7 Inch Case

Original Kindle Fire Case

Wireless USB Mouse

Bluetooth Speaker

Painting Skulls for Dale Jr., Nascar, and the National Guard

I recently completed an awesome job with a company called Keyscaper.

Keyscaper makes awesome fan gear for all of your favorite professional and NCAA teams including mobile cases, audio gear and office accessories.

They mainly deal with already established icons and logos, but for this job they wanted brand new illustrations made up for Dale Jr.'s line of Nascar / National Guard products. I was asked to paint a few skulls in line with some of the other products for Dale Jr.

These are skulls

Above is the final illustration that I handed in. Since they plan on using this illustration on a variety of items, they asked to have each skull and the background smoke/texture on separate layers all on top of a transparent background. This way they can adjust the skulls and move everything around to their liking for each product and they don't have to worry about fitting to a specific background color. I don't usually work this way, so this project provided a unique challenge, but it all worked out nicely.

These are headphones...with skulls on them

Above is a preview of what my illustration look like on one of the products. The illustration features the National Guard logo as well as Dale Jr.'s signature and car number. Headphones are just one of the many products being released with my work on it though. Once the rest of the products are available for purchase I will be sure to make another post.

It was a great pleasure working for Keyscaper on this project and I really look forward to working for them again in the future as it's been a really rewarding experience thus far. Special thanks to Kelsey Erck for seeking me out for the project as well as her very professional work Art Directing the project!

P.S. I made a new post where you can get a look at the initial sketches for this project, as well as a list of available products featuring my skulls. Just click HERE.